Shadow of REXIS instrument projected onto OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule

REXIS Sees Its Shadow

On March 8, 2018, OSIRIS-REx captured this image showing the shadow of the spacecraft’s REXIS instrument projected onto the Sample Return Capsule. The image was taken with the spacecraft’s StowCam imager while conducting Launch + 18 months instrument calibrations 36.6 million miles (59 million km) from Earth.

StowCam is one of the three cameras comprising TAGCAMS (Touch-and-Go Camera System), which is part of OSIRIS-REx’s guidance, navigation, and control system. This image was captured during a special sequence planned by Lockheed Martin to get a head start evaluating possible spacecraft illumination conditions during asteroid sample stowage. In this particular illumination configuration, sunlight is entering the field of view from the left-hand side at a 30° angle.

Date Taken: Mar. 8, 2018

Instrument Used: TAGCAMS (StowCam)

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

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